The India Imagined by the ConstitutionLike India, this book too is a collective effort. Some of the people who contributed to this work are: Aruninn Prakash Meenakshi Natarajan Sachin Rao Atanu Roy Nikhil Mathur Sagar Arankalle Birender Negi Nilesh Gehlot Shashi Sablok Deepak Chandra Panini Anand Sheetal Soni Devendra Soni Prashant Pathak Neel shivi Chauhan Durga Bai Participants of the Sunil Panwar Habib At Ahimsa Ke Raste carnps Sunny Malik Jay Krishna Palya Priya Kurlan Suraj Hegde Karunya Baskar RS Bali Sushil Shuk Khushboo Garg Rajesh Joshi Varsha Ayyar Rajkumar Kataria Rar Prakash Tripathi Sachin Naik Kiran Mugabasav elu Shankar Lakshya Chaudhary Mahendra Dubey Virma Rarn WETHEPEORE Version 1, October 2.2018, Email ahirsakeraste@grnall eam Viebste: wwwcnurhaibnaratin ‘The Constitution ke India tse vas: and complex This not an aeadernic work Our intent is not to explain ‘he dais of the Constitution bv to give the reader a sence ofthe deeply human and awe Inspiring vision tat Underies the Conatintion Gur nope fe that ve cay collectively preserve this vision so tnat continues to Guise ‘ature generations 2 Insians ‘This book san open wark that will evolve, improve and adapt based upon the consiaution of tase commited tothe patho tre Constitution Please feel ree fo wre tous at ahimaverasieagmsal com" you woule ike to share cormments, suggestions o* erections, rans.ae tre book ino regional languages ar use the content iv any orm Wie acinonledge our special debt 0 Lae Dustice Lela Seth's book Wie the Chidren of India! which inspired this work We iso extend oursiere gratitude to the estate of Iistce Seth for allowing us to ave mepration and ideas trom the Work Any eros or shoricomings of his werk ae atibutabe solely to Sachin Rao (sachinvae emali@gmallcor ‘This edition January 30, 020, This edition published by: ‘Alka 20th, Lokayat 129 B/2, Opp Synelcate Banke “aw College Road, Near Nai Stop, Pune #21 004 Contact: S067008838 Printed at "2S. Printrs 455, Shanivar Path, Pune ~ 411 030 Contribution: & 30/—We the People... ‘The India Imagined by the Constitution Dedicated to the 1,21,08,54,977 Indians from 35 states and union territories, living in 5,97608 villages and 7.933 towns, practising over 90 religions and speaking 270 mother-tongues* working to build an India that is united, free and strong, “Ai figures te trom tne Census of Inala 2031,We are India Roo) lives and pursue our dreams ae Indians are one family We share a cornmon home We are deeply inter-connected with each other. We depend upon each other and we must care for and nurture each other. We are building our shared home together. Every single Indian. & ff old or young, seen or unseen, famous or unknown, rich or poor, A, educated or illiterate, is an invaluable and irreplaceable part of India. As farrners, soldiers and teachers; as labourers, drivers and, Cleaners; as parents, neighbours and frends; as doctors, engineers and oficers: as thinkers, writers and students 1s migrants, refugees and activists—each of us is creating India with our thoughts, words and deeds.India is our shared responsibility How should we go about fulfilling this responsibility towards our home and our family? In what direction should we take our country? What are our rights and duties as Indians? How should we treat our fellow Indians? ‘The Constitution of India tells us how to fulfil this responsibility. It answers all these questions and more. It shows a path by which we can nurture the dream of every Indian and weave it into one national fabric, diverse, united and strong,The Spirit Behind Our Struggle for Freedom After a long struggle against colonial rule, India finally became free on 15th August 1947, Many leaders and millions of Indians participated in this movernent. They all made incredible sacrifices and understood India and its problerns very deeply. They struggled not only against the British, but also against the many forms of slavery that imprisoned our society. The leaders of this movernent had. different approaches to the struggle but they all shared a sirnilar vision for the kind of country that India should be. a Wrapermangrme iairsnaree aoe eye reel opiate renames ee eens making they have an i ‘cannot build up a morality. Anything you ere _ Sena eae men ; > eee = ant a —Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar | The service of India means the service of the tmillons who sutfer It means the ending of € ‘poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality ‘of opportunity. As long as there are tears and ~ 7 suffering, so long our work will not be over. — Jawaharlal Nehrt© revolutionary work to educate wornen ‘By Revolution, we mean that the present order of things, which is based on manifest imyustice, enust change. Producers or labourers are robbed by their exploiters. The ppeasanit who grows cor for al. starves with his farily; the ‘weaver who supplies the world market with textile fabrics, has not enough to cover his own and his children's bodies: ‘masons smiths and carpenters wo raise magnificent palaces, lve lke pariahs in the slurs = Bhagat Singh Savitrimai Phule ‘Through her ifeiong work to protect and serve widows, wornen, outcasts, chien, the sick ana others abandoned by soctely, she showed us the ways in which we “were fang as a society. Through her and alts, she showed us a path By which te could heal ourselves‘These leaders realised that Indians were enslaved not just by the British, but also by . poverty that brought starvation illiteracy and helplessness) discrimination that reduced wornen, oppressed castes, tribals and other sections of society to second-class citizens: inequality that concentrated wealth, status and power in the hands of a privileged few: a dictatorship that gave no voice to the cornrnon peopleThey realised that achieving true freedorn would require a revolution’ a social revolution that transforms society by protecting, empowering and emancipating the oppressed: a peaceful revolution that brings about change without anger, violence or hate, a collective revolution that includes every section of society and which brings with it the strength and wisdom of a nation standing united, | consider that the greatest national sin is the negiect of he ‘masses and that is one of the causes of our downfal No. amount of polities would be of any avail unt the masses in India are once more well educated, well fed and well cared. ‘or If we want io regenerate India. we rrust work for ther — Swami Vivekanand ¢ \ The acceptance of unity in diversity has been her (ingia\s) otto throughout the ages. The essence of ths principle is a large and wide-rearted toleration m which diferences are recognised and given their due The Incian genius has always recognised that truth has many facets, and Patred arses . ‘becailse people cairn a raonopoly of tuth and viru10 What is the Constitution? The Constitution is a collection of ideas and rules, that enables Indians to live and work as one. Itis the Supreme Law of India, There is no authority higher than the Constitution. But the Constitution is not simply a rulebook. this © Ashared dream. The Constitution lays out our collective vision for India. This vision constantly reminds us of the direction in which we must take our country © Amutual promise The Constitution promises every Indian the nights, protections and powers needed to build a life of dignity. It defines the responsibilities that we promise to undertake in return, © The blueprint of our country. ‘The Constitution tells us how our country should function It defines institutions such as the States, the Parliarnent, the Courts and the Cabinet: and processes such as elections, budgets and law-rnaking— that allow the country to work inthe service of the peopleThe Constitution was created by the Constituent Assembly of around 300 people from every region, religion, section and culture of Indian society. Dr Rajendra Prasad was the President of the Assembly. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, widely known as the Father of the Constitution, was the chairperson of the Drafting Committee, ‘The Assembly worked from 9th Decernbber 1946 to 26th Novernber 1949 to discuss and debate a range of issues The Constitution was forrnally adopted on. 26th January 1950. We celebrate this day as ‘Republic Day’ ‘ING15th August 1947 is the day on which we became free to define our destiny, 26th January 1980 is the day we decided what that destiny would be! The Constitution has many parts, but its soul is in the Preamble which lays out our collective dream for India.WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship: EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.We give ourselves this Constitution I is not a git, a grant or revelation frorn some external power but instead the product of the wisdorn and aspirations of the people of India. ‘The Constitution does not come frorn any one section of India It has been created by and belongs equally to every Indian irrespective of age, wealth religion, caste, gender, region, language. Vee education or any other parameter. rhe people are the only masters. The government exists to serve the people. Any power that theIndia's wealth will belong to all Indians, not just a privileged few. We will share this wealth and apply it towards the welfare of all, especially the poorest and most marginalised build a nation where education, healthcare, employme! ‘other basic n ‘ of every citizen. ts offlife are the fundamental rights8 Secular Every Indian will be free to practise the religion of their choosing, We will not have an official or dorninant religion in. our government. We will work to make sure that every religious group feels a sense of belonging and security in India,seh Bf as: 7 ae a Aah OS Every Indian rnust feel that they have a voice in shaping Ye ogg India, The will of the people must decide the course of the country, The decisions of the country will be taken by elected A ia representatives who are answerable to the people they serve. 9 7 Anh Vato 5) psa va 3 Together we will work so that each of us experiences ... SJustice © Every Indian rnust be free from oppression, exploitation and unfairness. Oppression can happen for a nurnber of reasons. It can be the result of social practices and beliefs—sorne castes, religious grouns or genders are oppressed, excluded or denied dignity. Oppression can occur because of economic reasons—the poor may be exploited because they are starving illiterate, unemployed or desperate, Oppression can occur because of political reasons—people may feel helpless and enslaved because they have no voice in their community. ® Whatever the cause of oppression, every Indian rnust have the power to correct the injustice in their lives,Liberty We rust have the freedom to be ourselves in India, The freedom to live, think love, pray, speak, eat, dress and work as we please so long as we do not har athers. India is a rainbow made up of crores of colours, every colour unique and every colour irreplaceable. For india to be tree and reach its fullest potential, each of these colours must be allowed S a to bloom in its own special way.Equality ofstatus and opportunity Every Indian should have the same opportunities to pursue their dreams. We are born with differences in wealth, power, education and social standing but these differences should not determine our destiny. India will do all that is necessary to assure that every Indian experiences dignity and has an equal chance to better their liveseach other like brothers and sisters, We will fosteOurGonstita tions AA Compassionate Revolution ‘Our Constitution was written at a dark time in the history of the world, Dr eect ete cn ‘oppression and violence. Britain and France were built ion eee meu aoe aT a iC Ce cern Reece ier mace hat eer Peet Crna ac ae te aca Teer ke Ty ore Toe cent ae eee America and Australia built societies where those with @atkesiins were systentaticallyoppressed and excluded: ayIn this era of darkness, the Indian Constitution Te oro ee Lag SIAR ete eater hure eevee | Pees hace Ruchu ata rut Pennetta DROS era eu) Cerone uence BEE CUNU EO a UU e Ber och SRO nero Occ pod DT UNun hare ring PCCaUCu nee niena Sets Cenc BUCO cat Cc CMa r os AThe Constitution ha Allowed Us to Travel Far 4 ‘The path of the Constitution has allowed India to come a long way in 70 years, It has brought the peace, stability and unity needed for the ration to grow: It has brought a large mass of previously excluded people into the mainstream This path has liberated minds and os set us free to dream, create and innovate sec oe [ora aster ane meee & wore nat pete ere pala ney ep ara yg CoUERSea a ASE iy ea kc eee oe nTeato te "iste ater ly INSTITUTIONS Wernow nave sysiems for adminsration, justice evelopment educaton, ‘reatncare, ageviure, trance erence and many other asks rede for anaton o operate INFRASTRUCTURE From 1500 viliges elected in 1987, we have now iuminated nes , every vilage. Road network has grown ror 4 ebro over 56 ah kre From 84000 teleshone ines at independance, we now have over 120 core mobile andi wired connections Brom just 7 engineering an 10 medical [Coieges at ndependence, we now nave unvrsties ana collages m very come’ ofthe cour,SOCIAL aUSTICE Untouehanity has been outlawed Laws to protec dls anc nals rom aocties nave been enaciea, Education, employment too and pubic formation ae avainse io every ctzen ae |aght Cammanties which weve once deed te night to enter a Seno0) today produce doctors, engineers, teachers and scents Sections of socety whieh oul ony Took on fom tne margins nave gen us pesderts chet ministers judges top ranking ‘officers ana social leaders The gts of minor grouDs (6 tre and practices have been races a [GLOBAL PRESENCE We are now the words Seargest, economy, te ave among the ew Courntres to have nunehe sattite, We lea the nations ofthe wots in founaing te Non-Algned Movernen: Werhave kept the fame af cemocracy ive even ab our negntous eto ficatorshp ana ilay rule We re recognised tally 35 beacon of humansy compassion ron-vslence anapeace India has emerged out of slavery and taken her place as a leader arnong nations. These are not the achievements of any one person but the collective accomplishments of the Indian people guided by the Indian Constitution a2 What of the Future? India has come a long way but our journey is far from over. © Children stil sleep hungry. © People still suffer indignity and oppression because of their caste. © People still eel insecure and threatened because of the religion they practise. \Wornen are still discriminated against at horne, at work and in society. © Poverty is stil a curse that condernns people to a lifetime of suffering, indignity and inequality ® Many Indians are still awaiting the justice, liberty and equality promised by the Constitution In his final speech to the Constituent Assembly, Babasaheb Ambedkar warned us about leaving people in chain: In politics, we will have equality and in social and economic life, we will have inequality. In politics, we will be recognising the principle of one rman one vote and one vote one value. In our social and econornic life, we shall... continue to deny the principle of one rman one value... If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political dernocracy in peril We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy... —Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkarfe us have played their part It is now the responsibility of us, the youth, to move India towards fulfilling the promise of the Constitution.0 A Promise to Our Country Mahatrna Gandhi taught us that we must be the change that we want to see in the world. Thus if we are to fulfil our responsibility of keeping India on the path of the Constitution, the frst step must be for us to bring the values of the Constitution into own lives. Let us promise to ourselves and our fellow Indians that: We will be guided by love, not fear. We will ... ‘e take pride in bringing joy and freedorn to ‘others, not in dominating thern: © celebrate, embrace and leam from diversity rather than fear and attack it © treat everyone as farnily—with affection, patience, understanding and acceptance. We will cherish and defend the dignity of every human being. We will ... © never see people as high’ or ‘low’ © never discriminate based upon wealth. religion, caste, gender, education, profession language, physical characteristics, belief or any other criteria; © not judge others and instead understand and accent thern: © defend the right of everyone including those with whorn we disagree to explore and express any idea they see fitWe will be wise with our privilege. Our position of privilege rnay bbe because we belong to a dominant religion, caste or gender It may be because we are wealthy or more educated Whatever be the source of our privilege, we will ... © protect and defend those who are weak in numibers, social position or wealth, ® never use our position to violate, crush or impose our belief upon others; © let go of our positions of power and use our privilege to create a more equal society. a2 We will resist injustice without fear, anger or violence. We will ... . believe in our right to be free and never accept that it is our fate to be oppressed: take strength from the ideas of the Constitution and use the path of the Constitution to bring change: correct the unfairness in society that arises because of differences in religion, class, caste and gender.Mahatma Gandhi captured our duty beautifully in his ‘talisman’ to the writers of the Constitution: "Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest person whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to her. Will she gain anything by it? Will it restore her to a control over her own life and destiny? In other words, wilLit lead to swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away." Itis only when we bring this spirit within us that ‘we will be able to uphold the Constitution and. make India ‘Saare Jahaan Se Achchha’!Where the Mind is Without Fear Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, / my Father, let my country awake. Rabindranath TagoreAbout Us: Lokayat Lokayat is a group of social activists in Pune. We organise seminars, talks, film screenings, music concerts, street campaigns, street plays, rallies—protests, etc. to spread awareness amongst the people, especially students and youth, about their rights and duties as outlined in the Indian Constitution. We work on voluntary basis. We believe that in order to be a better human being, it is our responsibility to give some time from our routine to think and act for the betterment of the society. Abhivyakti is the women’s wing of Lokayat, which organises campaigns and programs on various aspects of gender inequality and social roots of violence against women. Kafila is Lokayat's cultural wing, which makes use of a wide variety of cultural forms—including songs, rock concerts, street plays, dramas, dance and traditional folk art—to reach out to people and raise their cultural consciousness. Dear friends, if you would like to know more about us, or participate in our activities, you may contact us at any of the following addresses. Contact Address: Lokayat, 129 B/2, Opp. Syndicate Bank, Law College Road, Near Nal Stop, Erandwane, Pune - 411004 We meet every Sunday from § to 7:30 pm at this address, You are welcome, @ Alka - 9067003838 @ Rishikesh - 9423507864 © wwwilokayatorg.in Filokayatindia @llokayatindia = Weelokayat_ ~—- @lokayatpune ilokayat india@gmail.com Flabhivyaktipune Eikafilaofficial a5